


Jolly Rogers

by monroesherlock



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bakery and Coffee Shop, M/M, Multi, One Shot, POV Steve Rogers, Pen Pals, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Steve Rogers, Sam-Centric, Steve Rogers Feels, like he can barely stand it, short fic, steve's just so in love okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 11:47:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9383609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monroesherlock/pseuds/monroesherlock
Summary: There's Sam, Steve, and a bakery. The best ingredients to a romance, really.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OriginalCeenote](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OriginalCeenote/gifts).



> My exceptionally late entry for the SamSteve Gift Exchange. This is for Downwarddnaspiral on Tumblr and I really hope they can forgive me for being so behind. Grad School Applications got the better of me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. It's kind of rush job, self-beta'd (so all mistakes are mine) and as always, I'm not particularly happy with the end result.

It was his mother’s vision to open a family bakery.

When she died she left him her recipe book and a withered up dream that Steve found himself desperate to breathe life back into. Two years after her death he opened  _ Jolly Rogers,  _ a neighborhood bakery that he was sure would kill him.

Bucky laughs when he sees the name. 

“You opening a strip joint or a bakery, Stevie?” He says. Steve just elbows him and passes him a can of paint. They have things to do.

It takes a while for the bakery to get off the ground and Steve spends more time trying to keep it from closing down than he does actually baking but he loves it. 

It draws in the college scene, especially when he adds in the coffee bar. He’s in his third year when they finally meet.

The guy comes in every so often and always orders the same thing: a small cup of medium roast coffee and two slices of fresh banana bread. He’s a college student, Steve guesses. The messenger bag, frantic typing, and plethora of books sort of give him away. It starts slow. He comes in every week (then twice a week - then  _ every day _ ). He’s a got a gap in his teeth, the sweetest smile, and Steve feels himself  _ falling _ . 

“Jesus Christ, Stevie! Don't just sit there and moon over him. Ask him out.” Bucky tries to push him but Steve can never quite find the courage to make the leap. 

He does finally ask his name though

_ Sam. His name is Sam.  _ Steve rolls it around in his mouth, caresses it in between his lips, and sighs.  _ Sam. _

He’s a teacher’s assistant. Steve discovers. That's why he's always reading. “English. I know, my mom was horrified.” He says and his voice is even better than Steve could have imagined. Steve swoons whenever he hears it. “I want to teach though so that’s a good thing, I guess. At least I’ll have a job.” He shrugs drops an extra 5 dollar bill in the tip jar. “Gotta help keep my favorite spot open.” He grants Steve a wink and Steve fights the urge to grab his chest. Sam’s gonna send him into fucking cardiac arrest if he keeps this up. 

Strangely enough, he can’t seem to make himself mind.

\--

The next time he sees Sam, he’s with a girl. She looks to be about the same age wearing a nurse’s scrubs. Steve feels a pang in his chest. She's fucking beautiful. Beautiful like him. 

“Hi, Steve! This is Claire. She just started her rotation at the hospital so I thought I’d show her the best place to get a little pick me up.” Sam's smile is electric and even though Steve's heart is flatlining, it still makes him smile.

"Sam's been bragging about this place for months. Thought I should get the lay of the land, you know? I'll have to bring Luke by."

"Luke?" Steve asks, trying his best to keep the hope from seeping into his voice. 

"Her crazy big boyfriend." Sam supplies. There's a knowing lilt to his voice that causes Steve's cheeks to flush.

"Oh yeah, Sam's single. Painfully painfully single." Claire assures him. 

If Steve gives her her coffee for free, well, that's just because he wants repeat business. 

\----

 

Maybe Sam graduated? Maybe that’s why he's stopped coming around? Steve tries not to take it personally. People move on and grow and maybe he misinterpreted their friendship after all. That’s life right? People spinning around each other in circles, constantly trying to figure one another out?

But Steve could have sworn for a moment, just a moment that there was some tiny spark, that Sam maybe felt the same rush that Steve did whenever they inhabited the same space.

“If he doesn’t wanna give you a chance, he has no sense. You’re one of the best people I know.” Bucky’s assurances normally put Steve at ease but for the first time, they just feel hollow. He had to have done something wrong. 

 

Right?

 

\---

 

When Sam reappears his hair’s buzzed even shorter and he’s wearing fatigues. Shit. His eyes are a bit more world-weary but his order is still the same. Steve slides a plate of fresh banana bread in front the worn soldier. 

“Glad to know my favorite spot is still here. They keep moving things around. You’d be surprised how many new buildings can pop up while you’re gone.” He chuckles but there's a layer of sadness to it that Steve wants to wipe away. Someone like Sam should never be sad. 

“I know you mentioned you were military but I never really considered that you could actually be deployed,” Steve says quietly. “I missed your face around here. No one tips quite as well you.”

Sam laughs full and loud. “Glad to know that's really why you missed me.” He leans forward on his elbows, edging slightly into Steve’s space. “You know Steve, I missed more than just your banana bread **.** ”

That's how Steve ends up on a date with Sam Wilson. He finds out that Sam loves his mother more than anything in the world, that his favorite author is Langston Hughes, and that he’s pararescue and  _ wow _ when they kiss, Steve figures this may be what falling feels like but, hey, Sam could actually  _ catch him. _

 

\---

 

All good things in Steve’s life eventually go sour so naturally, just when they’re getting to the good part, Sam has to go away on another tour. This time, however, Steve makes sure to keeps in touch with letters and drawings.

Every one of Sam’s letters fills him with a warmth, sends him floating towards the sun with joy and  _ wow,  _ Steve really needs to get a grip. Bucky makes gagging noises whenever he sees Steve mooning over one of Sam’s letters but he knows that Bucky is secretly happy for him. Steve’s never had luck with love and for the first time, he really thinks this could be something. Once Sam comes home, once he’s done with his required time...

As time goes one. Sam’s letters change. There’s a brutal honesty that leaves Steve feeling raw. How can he love someone so much when they’re so far away, when he can barely remember their touch? Every letter feels like a caress and Steve wonders if Sam feels the same kind of longing, the same heartache.

After three months, the letters stop coming. Steve waits and waits but Sam never writes him again. He thinks over every word he sent. Was he getting too serious? Did he scare Sam away? Did he kill the best thing that ever happened to him before it even started?

It takes another three months for Sam to wander into  _ Jolly Rogers _ again. He’s positively haggard, a ghost clinging to his shadow and suddenly everything clicks into place. 

“One second he’s there and the next... _ gone.  _ It should’ve been  _ me.” _ Steve’s secretly grateful it’s not.  __

He realizes they can't just go back to the start. Sam's a different person. He's been through so much.

“I missed you,” Sam says. He lays his head on Steve’s slender shoulder and breathes deeply. “I didn't know how to write you, how to write anyone after-” his throat clicks like he's physically choking on the words.

“Of course not. I’m just glad you’re home.”

“Yeah?”

"Absolutely."

They have good days, bad days, god awful days, and days where Steve honestly can’t believe this is his life. He gets to hold Sam’s hand, gets to make him banana bread, and kiss him sweetly any time he wants. He gets to clutch Sam tight to him when the nights get especially bad, when Sam can’t seem to remember whether he’s in bed or lost in some godforsaken desert.

He gets to grip Sam tight, wraps his coltish legs around Sam’s hips and maybe he cries-

No one knows but the two of them.

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> As always you can find me on my Tumblr right [here](http://bittlebarnes.tumblr.com/)


End file.
